If you want to use a host, they should at least look professional in design. I think today that practically any site that wants my business should look crisp, clean and put together.

Word of mouth is pretty good for starter sites. I'm not sure how online advertising works out since I've never tried it.

You could also look at advertising other ways. If the site is a local one you could advertise with a billboard or a print ad in a newspaper.

My host gave me SSL for free so that was a relief because I didn't want to pay extra for my forum that is more like a hobby for me.

I was around when the WWW started to get up and popular and then came animated gifs and web pages of our very own. It was an exciting time and I had fun designing pages but they looked really clunky and that's because we didn't have all the amazing software tools we have now.

I totally agree with the OP on this. I always view it as serving the forum instead of having power over anyone!

Hi I'm Kathy! I run a Christian forum and own a crafting forum. I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve those sites.